The field of the present invention is meat processing.
The conventional method of processing meat slabs or bellies, and in particular pork bellies into bacon strips, consists of several steps. First, the bellies, which can either be fresh or defrosted, are injected with approximately 11% to 13% pickle solution. Once the bellies are injected with the pickle solution, they are hung from a smokehouse tree with a hanging device or comb. The bellies are then either cooked or smoked to approximately 128° F.
Once the bellies have been cooked sufficiently, they are removed from the smokehouse and placed in a blast chiller. The bellies are tempered in a blast chiller to a uniform temperature of approximately 18° F. to 27° F.
After the bellies are chilled, the bellies are then shaped in a pressing device. The pressing of the bellies results in bellies with parallel sides and substantially squared ends. The pressed bellies are then sliced to a desired thickness. Because the belly is enclosed on all sides when the belly is pressed, the belly is prevented from stretching as it is pressed vertically, resulting in lower slice yields. The average finished slicing yield ranges from 65% to 85% of the bellies. The 15% to 35% yield loss stems from various sources, such as internal separation of fat and lean caused by the pressing process, which results in an unacceptable slice, from uneven ends and pieces left in the slicing, and from trimming the bellies at various stages to enhance the rectangular shape.
In recent years, several companies have developed devices that press the bellies in all directions to form a nearly perfect rectangular shape. These devices press the bellies at a temperature of approximately 18° F. to 27° F. At this temperature, however, the pressure applied while pressing often causes internal shearing of the tissues that connect the fat to the lean, which results in significant damage to the individual slices. Further, because the bellies are compressed in all directions and are not allowed to stretch, slicing yields are lower. Finished slicing yields are typically in the 65% to 85% range.
More recently, the process has been modified by some companies to include massaging of the bellies, trimming the bellies to the rectangular shape and placing the massaged and trimmed bellies into stainless steel cages. The process includes injecting fresh or defrosted bellies with a pickle solution as in the conventional process. The injected bellies are then massaged within a temperature range of approximately 34° F. to 38° F. The massaged bellies are then placed into a vat or onto a staging conveyor for transporting to a worktable. On the worktable, the bellies are selected for their appropriate size and each belly is manually wrapped in a permeable film. The permeable film is between 4-6 mils in thickness.
Once the belly has been wrapped in the permeable film, it is manually stuffed into a cage and the lid is closed. The lid, as it closes, compresses the surface of the belly to insure, as much as possible, that the shape of the belly will have six flat surfaces comprised of three pair of parallel surfaces. The permeable film wrapped around the belly prevents the belly from extruding through the cage perforations, and also prevents the belly from sticking to the stainless steel cage during the cooking cycle.
Once stuffed into the cage, the belly is hung vertically on a tree and moved into a smokehouse/oven for cooking and smoking. The permeable film allows the smoke to penetrate the belly, giving it flavor and color. Once cooked, the belly is then chilled. The belly is then removed from the cage and the permeable film is removed from the belly and discarded.
The belly is then taken to a blast freezer to temper the belly to a uniform temperature of approximately 18° F. to 27° F. Once the belly has reached the desired temperature, the belly is sliced and packaged for retail sale or food service. This process typically produces substantially rectangular shaped bellies and slices, and produces yields often exceeding 90%.
The key to the success of any molded bacon process is the ability to press bellies into a substantially rectangular shape while maintaining a high slicing yield from the belly. Pressing bellies at a temperature above freezing, while advantageous, is problematic because the bellies do not retain their pressed shape. Prior art methods have typically only pressed bellies while frozen so that they retain their pressed shape.
The most conventional method is one such method. It requires pressing of bellies that are crust frozen and tempered to a temperature range of approximately 18° F. to 27° F., to permit the bellies to retain their final pressed shape. However, because the bellies are frozen during the pressing process, it is more likely that the belly will sustain shearing of connective tissues. This results in a greatly reduced slicing yield from the belly.
The caged belly process, although producing higher yields than the more conventional method is slow and labor intensive. The bellies must be manually wrapped in the permeable film and unwrapped after cooking/smoking, which is time consuming and expensive. Additionally, the process involves significant operating costs associated with the permeable film and the constant repair and replacement of the stainless steel cages.
Thus, there is a need for an improved method and apparatus for processing meat bellies which produces high yields and is fast, efficient and has a low cost.